Month: September 2012

We at LTCartoons.com will not be online much today. Of course we are grieving, not only for the 2,974 souls who perished on September 11, 2001, but for those who are living today, who don’t understand what happened to us.

The horrendous beast who murdered our citizens wanted nothing more than to divide our nation; either politically or by class. He told us over and over in videos that the knocking down of our buildings would not do it, but it would be a start. In many ways, he is still succeeding.

He knew we would wage wars and wars would drain our budget. It did. I have seen a war budget. It makes health and other social bills look like pocket change.

We would then begin to point fingers at each other and not him. Even GW Bush said, “I don’t think about him much anymore”.

Think right now and ask yourself, “Who is the biggest enemy to America?” If you said The President or those voting for him, or Romney or those voting for him, then you are still living that madman’s (Bin Laden’s dream) and I grieve for you.

If you’ve gotten past that, and know we MUST have a strong two-party system that works together as outlined by our Founding Fathers, then congratulations. You (and I) can move on (but never forget the evil plans of 9/11).

I encourage you to vote this November 7. But I also encourage you to support our President, no matter who wins. Because if you don’t, and if you try to undermine his work, you are still under Bin Laden’s Machiavellian spell; and of course I will continue to grieve for you too. The party for whom we are not voting is not our enemy. They are merely an aggravation. Poke fun at them if you like. Curse their being inept. But ALWAYS REMEMBER..They are not our enemy….. Al Queida is our enemy.

For 2.5 years on facebook I never mentioned politics once. Slowly and insidiously people on the far right begin posting everything from right wing political rhetoric to downright threats on my page (and sometimes my wife Lee’s). It occasionally happened from the left, but not chronically, methodically and in gangs. It was generally a once a month appeal (at most), not pushed, and very random. There was a dramatic difference. I still didn’t like it (as I’m in the middle), but it was not to the point of hateful and obstructing my work. I simply did not want to discuss politics on social media.

The great irony is, in those 2.5 years, we’d decided we pretty much did not care much Obama much as nothing seemed to be getting done. We’re keenly aware now, as is the rest of the nation, of Mr. Ryan hiding the Simpson/Bowles act, and now we know why, and may even vote for President Obama…though we never have before. The threats and rhetoric on our page never stopped. Though I’m an Independent, and might vote one of our Independent choices instead, I know I won’t vote the party that bullied us nonstop for 2 years. If they meant to recruit us, their skills were/are dismal. That’s not how its done. But they are still not my enemy. They are merely irritating and often fun to poke fun of.

We finally decided to fight back (even though we still weren’t decided who our candidate choice would be, but it was useless. They basically told us, “You are with us, or you are an evil socialist out to destroy America”. I knew immediately they were clearly living Bin Laden’s dream, and all I could do was pray for them (and still do). I do not mind if they don’t vote as I do; I only wish for them to behave like adults, and take it to the voting booth, not my facebook page. That is like my living room. It’s a “no touch zone”.

If you don’t like my politics or decisions, simply leave. That is how social media works. The threats are over. My wife and I are fighting back now, as you may have noticed, but all the while know you are not our enemy; you are simply irritating (if you are involved in this). For those who have not been involved, my deepest apologies for inflicting my retorts; they were and are not meant for you. I think people are starting to get it now….a strong 2-party system is our only hope. It works beautifully in my state of Arkansas where it is 50-50; and it can work in yours too. But first one has to drop the hate and/or paranoia. I’ll repeat; someone voting differently than you is not your enemy. Just irritating at worst.

So if you don’t “get it”, I also pray for you, that one day you will really see what has happened to you (and me), and how to simply let it go, and love ALL Americans again. It happened to me, it can happen to anybody.

Rick London is a writer, cartoonist, songwriter and designer. He founded Google’s number one ranked offbeat cartoons and funny gifts in 1997. They have been #1 ranked since 2005. He is married to nature photographer Lee Hiller-London who runs the popular nature photography blog Hike Our Planet.

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The GOP has many positive elements to offer if they’d only stick to the script for what their party truly stands. The problem is they’ve become insincere as a party, lying to themselves, deluding themselves, and pushing their politics so far right that they’re off the planet. They’ve lost any idea of what it is like to be compassionate and concerned about the plight of all Americans. Generally, where the Democrats have strengths, the GOP have weaknesses (and vice versa). They may not always like each other….but they ALWAYS need each other (to keep America, America)

It will change of course. It has too, as eventually someone will see in the party they want to win and work in government again. They shouldn’t be surprised when other parties are forced to “tug” even harder in the opposite direction to get things accomplished. It’s like dragging your ballsack through glass with this GOP Congress. They generally don’t want to compromise on issues that easily “could” be, because they’re more concerned with being right, keeping their jobs (and lifelong entitlements) and living their pride rather than helping voters voices be heard.

Our founding fathers, though many religious, knew the dangers of a Theocracy. After all it was a theocracy (in England) that they escaped by the skin of their teeth to travel here to found this great nation. And though many believed in God (as I do); they were VERY clear this was not a theocracy. And a two-party system was not only important, it was mandatory for America to work; and those two parties must work together, or sink together.

Are you pro-life? Fine, awesome, wonderful. I completely understand that position. I’m pro-life too. I happen to more often vote pro-choice now that I know about Misoprostol , the cheap Internet ulcer drug that 97% of the time cause abortions. The other 3% of the time, generally horrific birth defects. The Internet entrepreneurs who sell it, are sitting in prey for a Personhood ticket to be elected. Of course they will become the richest people on the planet. But that’s my choice. If you believe pro-life works better, God bless you..vote that way.

But I have to vote my conscience. I’ve seen the stats and I see millions of less abortions. You see otherwise, and I’m fine with that. We’d both like to see less abortions. For many years the pro-life movement made valliant efforts to lessen abortions. But when RVWade was settled. There was no Internet. There was no Internet entrepreneurs, and there was no Misoprostol. Now, in a Personhood/Theocracy state, we would have so many more abortions than happen now it would not even be controllable. It would be ridiculous in fact. The movement needs to catch up to speed and understand that the more they push for Personhood, the more the Mosoprostol Entrepreneurs love them. It’s only common sense the want more abortions, as they will sell more product.

And its very cheap, do it yourself at home, and can be bought over the counter in most countries, prescription in America. Meanwhile I’ll vote pro-choice for less and safer abortions. Until the pro-life movement tells me what it plans to do about Misprostol, how do they really expect me to take them seriously anymore? And finally, I believe abortion to be a personal health decision between a woman and her doctor. Does that mean I like abortion? No. But I think education, contraception and family planning is the key to less (in fact the stats show that works); legislation of abortion is a disaster. But let’s not argue semantics. You know it too. But you have a lot invested in “the movement” and I understand that. But we both would like to see the same thing. Less abortions. So we’re not as far apart as you think. You think legislation does the trick, I think education. So what. We both want the same thing.

You’re concerned about government debt and entitlement programs being abused – That is a very a righteous platform! You want to cut taxes for people making a lot of money because you sincerely believe companies will hire and help American’s get back to work? Awesome — fine, that’s ok by me.

Just understand I disagree with you. but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t shake your hand and say “Hey, what can we work together on?”. There was a time in America when parties were open to compromise. But when you slap my hand away, spit in my face, call me names and tell me I’m going to burn in hell and destroy America because I believe in Universal Health care, or that a rapist should be in prison, not at the movies every other weekend with his “love” child, and gays deserve less rights than straights, and are not entitled to the same rights in domestic partnerships or they are an abomination, then you know what you can do to yourself; and if your memory fails you, go to YouTube and see Clint Eastwood’s rambling dialogue with an empty chair.

The very decent GOP has been hijacked by the loon fringe. Loon fringe is not “my coined expression” btw. I hear it daily by the ex-GOP’s on Twitter who are now Independents or Democrats. The party left them too. Until the GOP sees that, address it, and let them know how very unwelcome they are (unless they start acting as the Constitution advises, they will lose until the end of time. I don’t say that with glee. I say that because I believe in a strong 2-party system.

Right now America has a very strong one party system, and one very horrendous joke that was once a strong proud party that knew how to compromise and not undermine a U.S. President’s work (at we, the people’s expense), and think we are all too stupid to know how Washington works and what they did. Most of us have been to college. We are livid at the GOP; even those of us who have voted it often, ESPECIALLY those of us who have voted it often.

You may wonder why I’ve given the GOP a hard time lately. You haven’t been paying attention. When the Democrats make faux pas, I’m onto their shenanigans too. But the Democrats (I hate to tell you) have been playing by the rules. They know their script. They’ve reigned in the far left (who was pulling them off the planet every bit as much as your far right fringe is now). I have been telling both parties for years, the real sanity is in the middle. Jon Huntsman tried his best (GOP) and you banished him to his home. President Obama showed in his actions that he was playing by his script. Former President Clinton eloquently drove home that fact last night. Now its time for a brave GOP to come to the plate and say, “I’m not pleased IN THE LEAST with the way this whole party has been hijacked, and even now controlled by the loon fringe. As a former GOP, I know the majority are not happy at all with that. In fact they are horrified. Let’s please. clean it up. That does not mean “Lose Your Religion”, it merely means know the difference between religion and politics, and if that is too confusing for you, please refer to the U.S. Constitution.

Rick London is an writer, cartoonist, product designer and songwriter. He founded Google’s number one ranked offbeat cartoons and funny gifts, Londons Times Cartoons which have been #1 Google ranked since 2005. He is married to nature photographer Lee Hiller-London. They live and enjoy nature in the beautiful Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas. They are active in childrens, military, animal and ecology causes

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I imagine this letter does not come as any big surprise. We both have seen it coming for a long time. I will admit at one time, long long ago, we were inseparable. I was so proud of you, and you seemed to be of me. Sure, I flirted with that other lady (democratic party) many times, but nothing I did that Ronald Reagan didn’t do, so don’t be mad.

This wasn’t an overnight decision. I’ve taken your bullying, insults, patronizing, your talking behind my back (but we always had a mutual friend who pretended to be your friend only, and of course I heard what you said the same day)…..and all sorts of other insanity (and oddly enough I liked Obama about as much as you did the first few years, but that is before I knew what the GOP Congress was doing). I was so afraid he was not a do-nothing President. Imagine my surprise when I discovered he was a do EVERYTHING President, and the GOP Congress was asleep at the wheel. Theirs, and your hate for Obama was far greater than either of your love for our great country. You were willing to let it sink, just to get rid of Obama. How dare you. This is our country too. Not yours, not Romney’s, not the Koch Bros only. Sure you own your fair share but guess what. So do the rest of us.

And I don’t blame you that you got hijacked by the loon fringe; that would be like blaming a pilot for a hijacking. You tried your best to show them sanity and even sent sane prophets such as Jon Huntsman but they wouldn’t listen. He even had a budget and health care bill endorsed by the Wall St. Journal and thumbs up from the AARP (as does Obama) but not you, my dear ex, GOP, you became the major joke of politics (in my lifetime). Think I enjoyed seeing that? Well think again.

Now we have nothing in common. You know I am a Constitutionalist and it is not unlike me to read the Constitutions of the world which are available (in totality) on the net.

What you are now offering is actually more brutal than the Constitution of Iran.

We are not a Theocracy. I believe that every man and woman in office should have every right to practice their faith but as Thomas Jefferson said, “Whatever you do, don’t mix it with politics. From that is what we ran (England).

Don’t you remember that Jefferson re-wrote the Bible; the Jefferson Bible and it was given to all of Congress all the way up until the 1940s? All the miracles were removed (he carefully edited it by razor blade). It’s still available on Amazon if you don’t believe me.

It was not that he didn’t believe in God, he did as do I. He simply wanted to make very sure nobody got the idea of it being a good idea to legislate religious morality. And now, you are working behind his, and our other founding father’s backs to do just that.

And this forcible rape thing….at first I thought it might be a joke from SNL or The Onion. But you were really serious about the rapist suddenly becoming “the loving father” with visitation rights for 18 years. That would make America the most immoral country on the planet.

You do not believe in equal rights for all. Sure you “Love the gay, but hate the sin”. Do them a favor…just hate their guts as they know and we know that’s what that means. If you spent that much time and energy on your own sins, you’d have no time to even worry about gays.

You think every immigrant must leave; even those born here illegally but know no other country but America. That’s not the America I know. Consider this. Christopher Columbus was Hispanic, here illegally, and without his papers.

You want to take away women’s health care, contraception and reproductive rights. You remember I told you once I don’t like abortion either, but you want to legislate it which is not only UnConstitutional, now we know it will cause millions more abortions annually. Haven’t you heard about the Internet Abortion Entrepreneurs laying in wait (praying Romney/Ryan would get elected) so they could hawk their cheap ulcer drug that works as a semi-abortion drug {Misoprosol} which will make abortions so easy, women won’t even need a doctor. Oh and it only works 97% of the time. But on the 3% it doesn’t it usually causes horrendous birth defects. But I know how you feel about that now. Any woman who would have an abortion deserves that. And the more you try to outlaw abortion, the more you finance the abortion drug, as it will go further underground, be pricier, and you’ll be financing that. Sorry, I’m too well to attend your party any longer. Yet another reason we must break up.

Consider this. I’ve been an Independent now for many years. I can tell you from all the disgruntled GOP’s (and Democrats) in this country who are also in our party that if the GOP Congress keeps acting this way, we Americans will keep electing Democratic Presidents (even if we don’t like them very much).

Why? Because we Independents are often a bit more educated and aware than the average voter. We know how Washington really works, and its not the President who usually is the problem; it is Congress…and this one has been the worst. So, if you want to keep seeing Democrats as Presidents, I encourage you to keep treating them the way you’ve treated President Obama the past 3 years. I can assure you Democrats (or Independents) will be elected over and over and over again, until you learn that compromise is not a dirty word, that all Americans deserve equal rights and the pursuit of happiness, keep your faith but America is not a Theocracy, Iran is, and you can’t bully me anymore. Even my therapist would fire me if he thought we were still seeing each other.

We’re 40% of America (we Independents) and we can vote you out so fast you won’t have time to blink. Think it through. Perhaps a total remodeling of a party that simply doesn’t work in the 21st century might serve you well as a start. Calling me names and rumors and innuendo isn’t going to help you one iota. What I am telling you is actually very instructional. I know you don’t believe it but I hate to see you crumble like this. Remember, I was once one of you. In fact so were a majority of Americans. But you left us, we didn’t leave you (to quote the late great Ronald Reagan).

Please remember that just because I don’t love you anymore doesn’t mean I don’t like you. I want you to be strong….but whenever I consult with you (regarding being strong, you do the opposite. Now who does that help; and see where it got you in the 2012 election. You have to admit you were quite the joke; but you were good to me in many ways. After all I’m in the cartoon and humor writing business, and I’ll give credit where credit is due. Your ignorance was definitely to mine, and many others advantage (who are in similar businesses).

Oddly, I’d rather live in a less divided country than be a successful cartoonist or humor writer. Really. I know you don’t believe that but I’m not driven by greed. I’d gladly go back to generic cartoons if you’d at least try to act humane and with integrity.

I know this John Doe letter is painful, but it’s also instructional. If you’ll do a few of the things I say; not just lip-service (Oh I love all people in all parties, gays, etc etc) but actually DO it, you might just find some of us come back and you can court us again. Meantime don’t come stalking me or I’ll take out a restraining order.

Rick London is a writer, author designer and songwriter. He founded Google’s #1 ranked offbeat cartoons & funny gifts, Londons Times Cartoons. He lives with his wife nature photographer Lee Hiller London who publishes the blog Hike Our Planet. Together they live in the beautiful Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas. They are actively involved in green, childrens, and animal causes.

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The more headway Romney and Ryan make, the closer we see Misoprostol becoming a household word. Those of us who spend time on Twitter have seen it coming down the stream ever since Romney admitted to Mike Huckabee of his commitment to The Personhood Bill.

The Mexican pharmacist awakens about 6am and drives to his wood-frame pharmacy about ½ mile down a narrow street full of stray dogs and cats. He sees the Pfizer truck awaiting him so he rushes to the door to let the driver in.

Jose Hernandez was educated at the pharmacy school in Mexico City and moved back to his home of San Antonio (not Tx) but a small town outside of Tijuana that boasts a beautiful Pacific Island beachfront. Many Americans own property on the beach due to it’s quiet scenic ocean view and low prices (for that kind of property). It’s only a 2.5 hour drive from San Diego.

Though Jose knows the bulk of Cytotec (also known by its generic name Misoprostol) will be his biggest seller, he also knows the majority of it will not be walk-in business, but Americans in states with few abortion clinics who cannot afford to travel to one. So they order Misoprostol made for ulcers which also often cause an abortion to occur. But not always. And when it does not, which is 3% of the time, it puts the baby at a much higher risk of birth defects.

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But of course women in need of an abortion don’t care. Their state government has made it impossible for them to have a safe abortion, so they will obviously use what is now being called “The Chemical Coathanger”.

In Uraguay where abortions are illegal, unethical doctors have been meeting with women for years in clandestine places to sell them Misoprostol at ridiculously inflated prices. Several women have died this year from the drug. Though it is safer than the old back-alley coathanger, it is only barely safer.

Misoprostol can also easily be purchased in America from any Canadian pharmacy at cheap prices. A big problem is that, many times these drugs, if ordered from out of the U.S. will be held up for weeks and even months at customs. That means a woman who was seeking an early-term abortion will now have to have a mid-to-late term one.

It is also cheap and easily ordered from most Asian countries and India and American women are already ordering and stocking up in schocking numbers (according to their Twitter tweet streams)

Though misoprostol can be bought over the counter in Mexico, a prescription is required in the U.S. and it most likely will not be outlawed even if abortion is. Why? Because it is an ulcer drug already approved by the FDA for ulcers.

The bulk of Jose’s sales are made in the U.S. It appears women are stockpiling just in case the Romney/Ryan ticket gets elected. His sales have increased about 5000% in the past year. He outsources the dropshipping of the med so as not to take away from his other pharmaceutical duties.

The “talk of twitter” says these “Internet Abortion Drug Entrepreneurs” have been “sitting in wait” for years, for a ticket like Romney/Ryan who might indeed select the right Supreme Court Judges to attempt to overturn RVWade. They had banked on Reagan but it didn’t happen. Now these weasels have true hope. They will, no doubt, be among the wealthiest E-Entrepreneurs in the world, as it is common sense that this medicine will be the most purchased over the net from other countries.

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And of course that means the U.S. Government will do the predictable….Wage a “War On Internet Abortion Drug Entrepreneurs” inciting others to “get in on a piece of the pie” and hidden scripts will enter the country left and right. Many women, of course will not have to go to the trouble to order the drug, though an article in a Texas Newspaper says many women in Texas already are crossing the border to get the med to stockpile it.

Many American doctors will simply prescribe it for ulcers, and an abortion will occur; or if not, most likely a baby with dramatic birth defects, and the drug (taken in amounts for abortion) can greatly compromise the woman’s immune system according to many studies and examples.

Jose’s business is not “an isolated case”. Abortion Entrepreneurs have been “laying in wait” since the days of Reagan….hoping he would nominate enough of the far right to the Supreme Court to overturn RVWade and let the floodgates loose, and, of course bring them more wealth than anyone could ever imagine.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffet would be “names of the past” compared to the top 10 of these clowns selling ulcer meds over the net…and frankly even to the friendly small town doctor who suddenly finds he/she has an incredible amount of women suffering from “ulcers”.

During the days of RVWade, there were no Internet abortions, only back alley brutal killers. Those days will be in the past for the most part. Most women will be able to afford the risky ulcer drug, and will take the risk of birth defects in case the med does not work. Back then, it was cut and dry; one was either for abortion or against it.

Today, there are many shades of gray. There is partial birth abortion which is outlawed except in very rare cases in which it will kill the mother, or when the baby is found already dead. In fact in either case most doctors tend to teminate the pregnancy in order to save the mother’s life and it does not fall under the auspices of “laws against partial birth abortion”.

There is still debate over “when life begins”, but that will no longer even be a debate if safe abortion is outlawed, as the majority of women will not be going for medical help but ordering the drug directly from foreign pharmacies, or getting an “online consultation” from an unscrupulous m.d. in America who will ask questions for five minutes and Fed Ex the drug to her.

If/When the feds close the MD down, 10,000 others will crop up. The war on abortion entrepreneurs will not be one of course. A federal prosecuting attorney with whom I grew up once told me, “Whenever there is a war on anything (other than war/battles) it is not only not won, but makes it worse”. I am in complete agreement with him on that topic, though he and I have debated on many other topics on which we don’t agree. He is a smart man, nevertheless.

So how do we create an environment for less abortions? Everything that the GOP is against. More education, contraceptive and family planning. I’m still trying to figure out how taking away contraception will result in less abortion. It’s sort of like less soap will cause more cleanliness.

With the abortion entrepreneur laying in wait (in every country in the world, I’m told), it’s really time to re-think voting on a “pro-life” ticket, because unlike the days of RVWade, it is suddenly the “ticket of death and destruction”.

They didn’t mean to be. Their hearts were in the right place, but anyone who understands the nature of the Internet (and I went back to school to study IT) knows every major niche will be filled by very eager entrepreneurs; and abortion is no exception. Who would have ever thought pro-choice tickets would be the ticket of life? Life is full of irony. (PS: Please don’t kill the messenger). Simply google “Abortion Ulcer Drug” and take a look at all the activity already happening, and November is not yet even here.

I believe the extremely important thing to remember here is that one can be pro-life and not vote a pro-life ticket (simply because of the millions of more, and dangerous abortions it is going to cause). In fact, if one thinks this through, the only TRUE pro-life persons will vote the pro-choice ticket. How can they not? They are not in this for power or “to have their dogmatic way”. They are truly in it for less and safer abortions. Most will argue with me now. But as more of this information emerges, and Misoprostol becomes a household word in America; which of course it will under a Romney/Ryan administration, pro-life voters and pro-choice voters will say, “Rick really wasn’t misleading us”. This is not only really happening, it is now so far out of control it can never be fixed.” Food for thought.

Rick London is an author, designer and cartoonist and founder of Google’s #1 ranked offbeat cartoons & funny gifts, Londons Times Cartoons. He lives in the beautiful Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas with his wife, Nature Photographer Lee Hiller-London. Follow them both on Twitter @RickLondon @LeeHillerLondon